On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany and its Axis awwies waunched deir surprise offensive into de Soviet Union, uh-hah-hah-hah. Their armies, totawing over dree miwwion men, were to advance in dree geographicaw directions. Army Group Centre's initiaw strategic goaw was to defeat de Soviet armies in Bewarus and occupy Smowensk. To accompwish dis, de army group pwanned for a rapid advance using Bwitzkrieg operationaw medods for which purpose it commanded two panzer groups rader dan one. A qwick and decisive victory over de Soviet Union was expected by mid-November. The Army Group's oder operationaw missions were to support de army groups on its nordern and soudern fwanks, de army group boundary for de water being de Pripyat River.

Bitter fighting in de Battwe of Smowensk as weww as de Lötzen decision dewayed de German advance for two monds. The advance of Army Group Centre was furder dewayed as Hitwer ordered a postponement of de offensive against Moscow in order to conqwer Ukraine first.

1942 opened for Army Group Centre wif continuing attacks from Soviet forces around Rzhev. The German Ninf Army was abwe to repew dese attacks and stabiwise its front, despite continuing warge-scawe partisan activity in its rear areas. Meanwhiwe, de German strategic focus on de Eastern Front shifted to soudwestern Russia, wif de waunching of Operation Bwue in June. This operation, aimed at de oiwfiewds in de soudwestern Caucasus, invowved Army Group Souf awone, wif de oder German army groups giving up troops and eqwipment for de offensive.

Despite de focus on de souf, Army Group Centre continued to see fierce fighting droughout de year. Whiwe de Soviet attacks in earwy 1942 had not driven de Germans back, dey had resuwted in severaw Red Army units being trapped behind German wines. Ewiminating de pockets took untiw Juwy, de same monf in which de Soviets made anoder attempt to break drough de army group's front; de attempt faiwed, but de front wine was pushed back cwoser to Rzhev. The wargest Soviet operation in de army group's sector dat year, Operation Mars, took pwace in November. It was waunched concurrentwy wif Operation Uranus, de counteroffensive against de German assauwt on Stawingrad. The operation was repuwsed wif very heavy Soviet wosses, awdough it did have de effect of pinning down German units dat couwd have been sent to de fighting around Stawingrad.

Fowwowing de disaster of Stawingrad and poor resuwts of de Voronezh defensive operations, de army high command expected anoder attack on Army Group Centre in earwy 1943. However, Hitwer had decided to strike first. Before dis strike couwd be waunched, Operation Büffew was waunched to forestaww any possibwe Soviet spring offensives, by evacuating de Rzhev Sawient to shorten de frontwine.

In de spring of 1944, Stavka started concentrating forces awong de front wine in centraw Russia for a summer offensive against Army Group Centre. The Red Army awso carried out a masterfuw deception campaign (Maskirovka) to convince de Wehrmacht dat de main Soviet summer offensive wouwd be waunched furder souf, against Army Group Norf Ukraine. The German High Command was foowed and armored units were moved souf out of Army Group Centre.

The offensive, code-named Operation Bagration, was waunched on 22 June 1944. 185 Red Army divisions comprising 2.3 miwwion sowdiers and 4,000 tanks and assauwt guns smashed into de German positions on a front of 200 km. The 800,000-strong Army Group Centre was crushed. It is estimated dat 300,000 - 550,000 Germans became casuawties, incwuding 100,000 - 150,000 became POWs. The Soviet forces raced forward, wiberating Minsk on 3 Juwy, de rest of Beworussia by mid-Juwy, and reaching de Vistuwa and de Bawtic States by earwy August. In terms of casuawties dis was de greatest German defeat of de entire war.

The commander in chief of Army Group Centre as of 28 June 1944 was Wawter Modew.

Discussion of de army group's situation in January 1945 shouwd note dat de army groups in de east changed names water dat monf. The force known as "Army Group Centre" at de start of de Soviet Vistuwa-Oder Offensive on 12 January 1945 was renamed "Army Group Norf" wess dan two weeks after de offensive commenced. At de start of de Vistuwa-Oder Offensive, de Soviet forces facing Army Group Centre outnumbered de Germans on average by 2:1 in troops, 3:1 in artiwwery, and 5.5:1 in tanks and sewf-propewwed artiwwery.[2] The Soviet superiority in troop strengf grows to awmost 3:1 if 200,000 Vowkssturm miwitia are not incwuded in German personnew strengf totaws.

On 25 January 1945, Hitwer renamed dree army groups. Army Group Norf became Army Group Courwand, Army Group Centre became Army Group Norf, and Army Group A became Army Group Centre. Army Group Centre fought in de defence of Swovakia and Bohemia-Moravia as weww as sections of de German heartwand.

The wast Soviet campaign of de war in de European deater, which wed to de faww of Berwin and de end of de war in Europe wif de surrender of aww German forces to de Awwies. The dree Soviet Fronts invowved in de campaign had awtogeder 2.5 miwwion men, 6,250 tanks, 7,500 aircraft, 41,600 artiwwery pieces and mortars, 3,255 truck-mounted Katyusharocket waunchers (nicknamed "Stawin Organs" by de Germans), and 95,383 motor vehicwes. The campaign started wif de battwe of Oder-Neisse. Army Group Centre commanded by Ferdinand Schörner (de commander in chief as of 17 January 1945) had a front dat incwuded de river Neisse. Before dawn on de morning of 16 Apriw 1945 de 1st Ukrainian Front under de command of Generaw Konev started de attack over de river Neisse wif a short but massive bombardment by tens of dousands of artiwwery pieces.

Some of de Army Group Centre continued to resist untiw 11 May 1945, by which time de overwhewming force of de Soviet Armies sent to wiberate Czechoswovakia in de Prague Offensive gave dem no option but to surrender or be kiwwed.

By 7 May 1945, de day dat German Chief-of-Staff Generaw Awfred Jodw was negotiating surrender of aww German forces at SHAEF, de German Armed Forces High Command (AFHC) had not heard from Schörner since 2 May 1945. He had reported dat he intended to fight his way west and surrender his army group to de Americans. On 8 May 1945, a cowonew from de Awwied Forces High Command was escorted drough de American wines to see Schörner. The cowonew reported dat Schörner had ordered de men under his operationaw command to observe de surrender but dat he couwd not guarantee dat he wouwd be obeyed everywhere. Later dat day, Schörner deserted his command and fwew to Austria where on 18 May 1945 he was arrested by de Americans.